PORTLAND — A former Westbrook man who installed hidden video cameras in a residence to record unsuspecting teenage girls while they were undressed was sentenced Monday to two years in jail, followed by eight years of probation.
Michael Femling, 45, whose most recent address was in Billings, Mont., pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court to six counts of violation of privacy and four counts of visual sexual aggression against a child.
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As part of a plea agreement, the four most serious counts against Femling – visual sexual aggression against a child – were reduced from felonies to misdemeanors and additional counts of invasion of privacy were dismissed.
Femling made the video recordings in Westbrook between February 2009 and July 2011. The charges involve four teenage girls with whom he was acquainted.
Femling, dressed in an orange jail uniform and wearing a mustache and goatee, spoke briefly at the hearing when asked by Justice Roland Cole if he had anything to say.
“It’s probably the worst decision I’ve made in my entire life,” Femling said. “I’m sorry.”
The case first came to the attention of police after one of the girls and an adult in the residence found hidden cameras and notified police on July 4, 2011.
Femling was also ordered to register for life as a sex offender and have no unsupervised contact with minors.
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